Numerous types of processes involve the transport of liquids and gases between two locations. These fluids may contain, purposefully or otherwise, solids. For example, oil and gas assets may have sand in the produced hydrocarbons and/or sometimes there are solid contaminants called black powder produced as a byproduct of corrosion. The sand, solid contaminants, or other entrained solids, may cause an irreversible loss of material, due to abrasive effects, on an internal surface of a flow path. Damage caused by erosion may affect production, such as by causing a stoppage, may increase risk of catastrophic failures, and costs operators billions of dollars annually.
Various means for mitigating erosion have been proposed. For example, adding additional thickness to bends, or providing an erosion resistant coating to an internal surface of a flowline may provide additional on-stream time before measures must be taken to account for the accumulated erosion. Others have proposed adding flow directing elements to a flowline to alter a flow pattern of a fluid. However, these flow directing elements often fail themselves due to erosion.